Nature Activity At the Florida Museum

The Butterfly exhibit at the Florida Museum of Natural history was beautiful. Not only was the exhibit full of frames of beautiful taxidermy butterflies, but it also had portions of the museum, like the photograph below, that exhibit butterflies in their natural habitat. The outdoor butterfly garden is a majestic experience that every University of Florida student should take advantage of. The exhibit as a hole is encapsulating; From the framed butterflies, to the like butterfly patterns on the ceiling, and even the window into the butterfly laboratory, there is something interesting to look at in every direction. The aesthetic nature of a single butterfly is enough to bring joy to anyone, but the amount of beautiful creatures I witnessed in such a small place was breathtaking. While reading the informational cards posted throughout the museum I learned that butterflies migrate. The most enjoyable portion of the exhibit was the outdoor butterfly garden. The beauty and solitude of the garden make it the most peaceful place on campus.

As earlier stated, the museum provided me the opportunity to experience butterflies up close like never before. The pure beauty of each individual butterfly was astounding. While walking through the butterfly exhibit at the Florida Museum of Natural History, I could not help but admire the unending amount of colors represented by the butterflies. Each and every shade of the color spectrum was present in the exhibit. I was amazed not only the number of colors I was experiencing, but also the vividness of each color as it shined off of different wings. The butterfly garden is a perfect example of the Florida Museum of Natural History's attempt (and success) at uniting its visitors with nature. As I recall, my friend Hannah, although she enjoyed the beauty of the exhibit, was sad about the number of butterflies she felt were killed before their time to be displayed. My close up encounter with the butterflies made me more conscious of their beauty, and undoubtedly more willing to contribute to a cause that benefits butterflies.

The Natural History Museum isolates us from the rest campus and points out many of the beautiful moments and members of Earths Natural History. The museum provides a mental escape from campus. When one enters the Museum there are so many eye catching signs and exhibits one cannot help but be overwhelmed. The overwhelming sensation associated with first walking into the museum takes overtakes all of your life stresses and replaces them with a much smaller burden. Even if the burdens are only relieved for a second, any stress free moment we can enjoy brings us closer to our natural state and therefore closer to the path to the Good Life. As we learn random facts about different organisms from frogs to butterflies to extinct dinosaurs it is evident that we realize that the only thing stopping frogs and butterflies from going extinct is us. As humans we have the responsibility to take care of the natural world and keep it as close to its natural state as possible.